Isle of Yggdrasil
The Isle of Yggdrasil was an island which was located somewhere around the eastern coast of Remon in the Third Age although its history reaches back all the way to the First Age. It was hidden behind the White Seal which prevented intruders from getting in. Leon Alcibiates travelled there once he had found Geraud Aurelac who would wield the Silver Branch and helped plant a new world tree, Silverbranch Tree, to replace the withered Yggdrasil. After the Cataclysm, the island collided with a portion of Southern Yamato, and was visited by Leon and the Fellowship of Maar Sul to seek guidance from the Silverbranch Tree. History The Island Emerges At the dawn of the history of the Land of the Living, Gaea the Goddess of the Earth planted a magical world tree on an island away from the megacontinent to keep the world safe from beings that could threaten it from other realms and to keep Balance in the world. This island was named after the world tree, Yggdrasil, and was guarded by a special sect of the Clergy of Gaea which consisted of orphaned kitsune who would act as the World Tree's guardians and caretakers. Origins of the Landpoison While wars of gods and mortals raged on elsewhere, the isolated island was safe from strife for a time but not from visits of dark wanderers who found themselves on its shores from time to time. One such wanderer was the dark kitsune Katsutoshi Kobayashi whose involvement with the priestess Inari Okami made the priestess aware of the darkness that governed the outside world. When Katsutoshi visited the sacred grove again and seduced Inari's student and eventual successor Haruko Mizushima, it didn't go unnoticed by Inari. Conflict arose between master and student, which ended in bloodshed when they came to blows due to the dark influence of Death which had slowly but surely found its way into even this secluded island. As a result of the battle Inari was slain, and this first act of bloodshed on the once pure island ended up affecting Yggdrasil, making it vulnerable. The deaths of Inari Okami and later Gaea herself in the War of the Andain that followed a few decades later had planted the seeds of darkness in the soil of the island. The island was placed behind the magical White Seal by the goddesses Heath and Tiamat to prevent any outsiders from accessing it and corrupting it further, but the damage had already been done. By the time the Chaos War of the First Age ended and the fallen god Mardük was sealed into the Temple of Fiends which became his prison for the following millennia, Mardük's chaos, which had drawn dark power from Death, resonated with the already exposed and vulnerable Yggdrasil. This taint created the Cursed Earth around Mardük's prison and would eventually lead to the Landpoison of Yamato as the curse spread to the landmass around that area of sealing. Death and Rebirth As Yggdrasil's power was directly linked to the health of the world, this taint was enough to affects it in its vulnerable state and rot it from within, further spreading the Landpoison by the Third Age. The Landpoison ended up weakening the once impenetrable White Seal and made it crack, thus allowing dark forces to enter the island if they located it. The resurrected bard Leon Alcibiates was tasked to use the magical Silver Branch to locate a hero destined to save the World Tree and the world from falling into darkness. Leon eventually located the destined hero who was Prince Geraud Aurelac who also happened to have the spirit of the once mighty wizard Grady Silverbranch sharing his body. Leon and Grady voyaged to the Isle of Yggdrasil and managed to pass through the White Seal where they saw Yggdrasil the World Tree about to wither and die. Geraud and Grady used their powers in tandem with the Silver Branch to draw remaining power from the World Tree and plant a Second World Tree by using their liveforce as a sacrifice. Geraud and Grady fused with the Silver Branch, thus creating a new and healthy World Tree which would become known as the Silverbranch Tree. The White Seal could once again ward off dark forces, and the new World Tree began healing the damage caused by the Landpoison, eventually purifying Yamato from the taint that had plagued it over a millennium. Recent Developments As the Cataclysm struck and rearranged the world, the Isle of Yggdrasil crashed into the southern Yamatian landmass but was protected from the dark power of the unleashed demons by the renewed White Seal. Leon Alcibiates revisited the Tree and what remained of the island--now peninsula--with the Fellowship of Maar Sul and received a new Silver Branch from the Tree which would be needed along with other magical objects to purge the world from another taint: the Blood Fever and its offshoots. The Tree then teleported the Fellowship to another group of adventurers so they could travel together to end this new menace that threatened the balance of the world. See also *Landpoison of Yamato *Leon Alcibiates *Silverbranch Tree *Silver Branch *Yggdrasil Category:First Age Category:Islands Category:Second Age Category:Third Age Category:Yamato